Mooching Off Neighbor's Wi-Fi Is a Growing Trend

It's the digital equivalent of mooching a cup of sugar, only without asking. Some 32 percent of respondents to a recent national survey admitted borrowing a neighbor's unencrypted Wi-Fi connection. That's nearly double the 18 percent who said they borrowed Wi-Fi in a 2008 poll.

"The reality is that many consumers have not taken the steps to protect themselves," said Kelly Davis-Felner, marketing director at the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit trade group that commissioned the surveys.

Sharing an open Wi-Fi hookup might seem neighborly. But a nosy neighbor could use eavesdropping software to monitor your online haunts. A free, easy-to-use eavesdropping tool called Firesheep has been downloaded more than 1 million times since last year.